EUR 808.94 For Business Accounts Only

Sears: Downfall of a giant. Suffering from fundamental problems, Sears nears bankruptcy

Summary

The end of Sears has been predicted by retail analysts for a longtime. Not long after Kmart and Sears merged to create the Sears Holdings Corporation in 2004, revenues began to slide and have been doing so at gathering speeds ever since 2007.

Many factors are responsible, but most fundamentally the company is not being run in a way conducive to survival, even though potential escape routes exist. Many problems can be traced back to the CEO, Eddie Lampert.

Failure at the top of the company to summon suitable solutions to longstanding problems is the most fundamental of them all. Sears remains a trading company, for now. Unless radical action is taken very soon the brand will soon cease to exist altogether.

Key Highlights

- The creation of Sears Holdings Corporation by the merger of struggling retailer Kmart with Sears (although in effect the deal was a Kmart takeover of Sears) was supposed to provide both retailers with economies of scale and integration of products to compete against Walmart and other firms.
- How the company is organized exacerbates the problem further. Shortly after Lampert took over, each business unit was organized to function as an autonomous company would do.
- Most observers of Sears have struggled to discover potential means of the company being saved from expiring ever since it was formed.

Scope

- Assesses the impact of the Kmart and Sears merger
- Looks at the role of CEO in the company
- Examines the financial situation the company is in
- Examines the current strategies in place
- Assesses the need for store investment
- Looks at potential rescue plans

Reasons to buy

- What impact did the merger have on business?
- Can the company ever be turned around?
- Why is investment in stores necessary?
- Was selling of assets correct?
- How much is the CEO to blame for a decline in fortunes?